06-05-2010, 02:08 AM
Quote:Denmark is more like Wisconsin. So why compare it to New York? It seems Europe in general has "States" whose prices compare to the most expensive place in the most expensive state to live in. Too bad for New Yorkers.Hm. Why compare Denmark with the whole US, rather than just Wisconsin? Why just Denmark, and not the entirety of Europe? Good question. If I may cast our memories back to yesterday, you wrote:
Quote:The costs of most everything in Denmark are about triple what they are here in the US.Did you perhaps mean to emphasize "here in the US" rather than "here in the US"? If so, that was not even slightly obvious.
Quote:The site you linked to compared such important commodities as Ipods. Oh, boy. That is a product that would maintain a consistent price across borders. Same with any electronics. Look at the price of coffee. Coffee too is almost equal. The advantage we have living here is that we're close to agricultural, forest, the Alaska pipeline, great lakes shipping, Mississippi barge traffic, huge airports and a large refinery.Listen to yourself. You're complaining that they're including things whose prices are equal. But that's the point! Those commodities cost the same in Denmark as in the US, approximately. That means, shockingly enough, that prices are not triple. Is your idea that Danes don't buy coffee? Or iPods? They also include things that are not equal - food, rent, fuel. You should include a representative, proportional mix of what people buy. That's what a price index is all about. Then, you take that price index, and compare it to a wage series, and shazam: real prices! And, lo and behold, that's what they do.
-Jester